Genuine Christianity: Advancing the Gospel in Adversity

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Philippians 1:12-13

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ.

(CSB)

The final words of Christ laid down the mission of the Church, spreading the Gospel or good news about forgiveness of sins and the making of disciples (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20).  Therefore, the advancing of the Gospel is not an option for the church but a missional command from the Lord and should be the main focus of all aspects of the ministry.  However, the method of advancing the Gospel message must adapt to the circumstances of the culture in which the Church operates.  For the Apostle Paul, these circumstances were being in prison for preaching the Gospel. 

The Apostle Paul could have reacted with anger at the injustice of being in prison for spreading the good news about Jesus.  He was not preaching a message of sedition calling for the overthrow of the government or storming the halls of government in an attempted coup.  Instead, he was just going around the empire speaking in synagogues and establishing churches consisting of a diverse group of both Jews and Gentiles.  Instead of being imprisoned one would think the Roman Government would praise his efforts to unify Jews and Gentiles who were often at odds with each other. 

However, instead of demanding justice and release from prison, we see Paul using the opportunity of his imprisonment to spread the Gospel among the guards and officials holding him in prison (Philippians 1:12-13).  His tenacity for spreading the Gospel is also contagious, emboldening others to also spread the Gospel (Philippians 1:14).  However, advancing the Gospel can occur with many different motivations that impact how the message is perceived (Philippians 1:15-17).  Some preach the Gospel out of, 

1)      A sense of social justice (Philippians 1:15) – While the imprisonment of the Apostle Paul was unjust, Paul viewed it as part of God’s plan for making disciples of the nations (Matthew 28:19-20).  Therefore, he did not react with complaints about the social injustice of what was happening to him and instead looked for individuals around him needing to hear the Gospel message.  We may find ourselves working or living among ungodliness and injustice and be tempted to react with anger or complaints.  Rather than having this reaction, I would like to challenge those reading this, including myself, to pray for those around us and take advantage of the opportunities for sharing the love of Christ in our words and deeds with those around us.  God has placed us in our present situation for a reason and our role is fulfilling the mission of sharing and more importantly living for Christ in that situation. 

2)      A sense of opportunistic ambition (Philippians 1:17) – Sadly, throughout church history people have used the Gospel message to profit personally and continues to occur today.  Paul must have observed the same situation and feared these charlatans would take advantage of his imprisonment to fleece the generous believers at the Philippian Church.  The purpose of the Church must be the mission of bringing the Gospel message to as many as possible.  The motivation for doing so must, however, remain solidly in obedience to the commands of Christ (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20), and bringing glory to God and not profit to the person or organization spreading the message. 

3)      A sense of love and service (Philippians 1:16) – As Christians, we serve Christ.  Jesus told his believers that they must take up their cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23).  While we view the cross today in a positive way, at the time Paul was writing this, Christians were being crucified for their beliefs.  To them, Jesus command to take up their cross meant a willingness to suffer ridicule, suffering, imprisonment, or even death for their belief.  Those choosing to continue spreading the Gospel in this atmosphere of adversity were doing so out of denial of self and complete surrender of their lives to Christ. 

Ironically, the Apostle Paul ends this section of his writing with not caring about the motivation for spreading the Gospel message, only that the message is spread.  This indicates that even spreading the Gospel with a sense of social justice and moralism or profiting from spreading the Gospel is not necessarily wrong but a word of caution to guard the attitude with which we carry out the mission of spreading the Gospel message.   My prayer is that whether in adversity or times of prosperity, the Gospel message goes out in an attitude of love and service to Christ.